Tesla ‘Supercharges’ Charging Stations With Retail

As drivers of electric vehicles spend more time waiting at charging stations than drivers of traditional cars spend at the pump, Tesla is planning a retro-themed charging station with retail components in Santa Monica, California. Tesla Co-Founder Elon Musk said the planned charging station would include a 1950s vibe, The Verge reported.

“Gonna put an old school drive-in, roller skates & rock restaurant at one of the new Tesla Supercharger locations in LA,” Musk wrote in a tweet.

Currently, the site of the planned location is a Volvo dealership. But, through a permit filed with the city, it may soon contain a “Tesla restaurant and supercharger station,” scheduled to open by the end of 2018, according to a map on Tesla’s website.

Already, Tesla has built charging stations with some retail components. In a small town between Los Angeles and San Francisco called Kettleman City, a coffee shop, vending machines and advertising for Tesla products are included with its charging station.

The news comes as Tesla vehicles are now available for rent at the Mall of America, industry news source Chain Store Age has reported.

The business, which is called TREVLS, opened at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. Rentals are not cheap: TREVLS charges daily rates of $195 for the compact model S 60D, $235 for the S 85D full-size sedan and $350 for the X 90D SUV.

TREVLS opened its doors as the city geared up for the Feb. 4 Super Bowl at U.S. Bank Stadium. When football fans arrived in Minnesota, they had the opportunity to take advantage of cheaper rentals by driving a Tesla for as short a time period as an hour.

“We’re thrilled that our first location is within Mall of America, which allows us to reach more drivers switching to electric vehicles,” John Marino, founder and CEO of TREVLS, told Chain Store Age in January.

That announcement came as Tesla is moving beyond its signature electric luxury cars to other business lines, such as electric trucks. Walmart embraced Tesla’s electric tractor-trailer truck concept last year with an announcement that it planned to test-run the recently previewed, soon-to-be-released vehicles.